Denard Robinson was selected 135th overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 5th round and will now return home to play professional ball in the state of which he was born. The Deerfield Beach, Florida native Robinson was announced as a running back when his name was called so it looks like the the Jaguars took Robinson on face value when he declared he would do “whatever it takes” to get on the field and play.

Denard is no stranger to running the ball for positive yards as during his time leading the Wolverines he set multiple team and conference records including the Wolverine total-offense record in the 2010 season when he put up 4272 combined yards with 1702 of them coming on the ground. For his career, Denard compiled 4495 yards rushing on 723 attempts with just over 6-yards-per-carry and 42 touchdowns. Pretty impressive for a quarterback. Heck, pretty impressive for a starting running back as well for that matter.

But being a quarterback that runs is much different than being a natural running back that runs. The level of punishment Robinson’s body will take in his new role will certainly be a new experience for him. And even the Jaguars themselves have acknowledged he is a work in progress. But should Robinson excel with his new opportunity, then look out NFL.

Will Campbell on the other hand is a 6-foot-5, 312-pound defensive lineman who looks to also be switching responsibilities in the NFL as a member of the New York Jets who selected him 178th overall in the 6th round.

According to reports, when the Jets had Campbell in for a private workout prior to the draft they worked him as an offensive guard, a position Campbell played for three season in high school.

But although Campbell has size on his side, the one knock on him during his time at Michigan was his ability to be consistent. Was it possible that Campbell’s true position was a offensive guard and that he never really accepted being switch to defensive tackle by former Wolverine coach Rich Rodriguez so early into his college career at Michigan?

For his career Campbell finished with 66 total tackles and 3 sacks.

Un-drafted Free Agents

Although only two Wolverines were selected as part of the 2013 NFL Draft, there were many others that indicated they signed free agent contracts soon after its completion.

• Defensive lineman Craig Roh signed with the Carolina Panthers.
• Offensive linemen Elliott Mealer signed with the New Orleans Saints.
• Receiver Roy Roundtree signed with the Cincinnati Bengals.
• Safety Jordan Kovacs signed with the Miami Dolphins.
• Offensive lineman Patrick Omameh signed with the 49ers.
• Linebacker Kenny Demens signed with the Houston Texans.
• Offensive lineman Ricky Barnum signed with the Washington Redskins.

(Original list compiled by Angelique Chengelis of the Detroit News.)

Also according to reports, out are the “Leaders” and “Legends” monikers that formerly distinguished the two divisions apart and in are the more publicly accepted, simple “East” and “West” geographically aligned designations.

Michigan will now be placed in the same division as OSU and MSU which will preserve “The Game” as the marque match-up to close the year and can only occur once a season.

The new proposed divisions will group Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Wisconsin and Purdue in the West.

The East would be made up of the traditional rivals Michigan and Ohio State along with Michigan State, Penn State, Indiana and the two newest schools Rutgers and Maryland.

The conference will also announce a nine game conference schedule beginning in 2016 according to reports.

The powers that be in the Big Ten are reportedly scheduled to vote on the new divisions and names and alignment next week.

Good luck making it to the title game now Sparty!

Trey Burke made the announcement during a press conference called by Michigan Athletics to communicate the news from Ann Arbor.

The Naismith and Wooden award winner and Big Ten Player of the Year contributed 18.6 points-per-game and 6.7 assists-a-contest. Burke led his Wolverines to a 31-8 season record. The team made it to the title game only days ago and lost a close battle to the Hall of Fame to-be coach Rick Pitino and his Louisville Cardinals. Nothing to be ashamed of.

Coach John Beilein made particular mention that Trey Burke played for the Michigan Wolverines at a “very important” time and was publicly supportive of what Burke had done for the university as a whole.

The Wolverines restored much of their basketball traditions this year or at least established possibly new traditions of basketball excellence to follow in Ann Arbor.

Regardless, for Trey Burke congratulations!

Hail Yeah! Go Blue!!

Trey Burke feeling it against MSU in Ann Arbor on March 3rd, 2013 (Image courtesy Detnews.com

]]> http://hokeamaniac.com/trey-burke-says-bye-michigan-hello-nba/feed/ 0 http://hokeamaniac.com/michigan-wolverine-spring-practice-second-thoughts/ http://hokeamaniac.com/michigan-wolverine-spring-practice-second-thoughts/#comments Sun, 14 Apr 2013 14:57:08 +0000 The Original Hokeamaniac http://hokeamaniac.com/?p=3939 “I like that we’re young…I like this football team!” – Coach Brady Hoke when asked about what defines his 2013 Wolverine team.

For coach Brady Hoke and his Michigan Wolverines, any success to be achieved in the 2013 season will depend on the performance of the man taking snaps from under center. And that responsibility falls into the arms and rest on the legs of the Devin Gardner.

Quarterback Play

“I have a lot of go-to guys” – Starting quarterback Devin Gardner when asked about his preferred go-to wide receivers now.

After a solid performance Saturday, Gardner appears to be right on track for a successful second season as starter for his Wolverines team (Gardner started five games last season taking over for the injured Denard Robinson).

Gardner made some crisp throws at times and moved well in the pocket when needed. There were a few passes including a shovel-pass attempt that Devin would like to have back, but overall Gardner looked like a man in charge of the offense. There were no “jump ball” type passes and literally all his attempts had a nice trajectory from the throw to catch.

On the day Gardner completed 11 of his 16 pass attempts and easily could have had a few more completions to his credit. He started the day with a nice 30-yard pass down the sideline to sophomore receiver Amara Darboh and threw for one touchdown with his 12-yard pass to the freshman tight end Jake Butt.

Of course, all the quarterbacks wore the “hands off” orange (not red) jerseys yet that might not have mattered today.

Gardner split time with players that most Wolverine supporters probably hope not to see much during the regular season as they were not technically in Michigan’s plans this year but now due injuries, they’ve earned a much greater focus.

The walk-on out of Detroit Brian Cleary threw for one touchdown as well yet only on two completions. Sophomore Alex Swieca had a nice scramble run up the middle and into the clear before being shoved down out of bounds.

Freshman Shane Morris is not yet on the field and the most seasoned returning QB Russell Bellomy tore his ACL and is not scheduled back anytime soon.

Overall, if Devin can stay healthy, quarterback shouldn’t be a concern.

Running Game

With the graduation of Denard Robinson in the off-season and with him the majority of the Wolverine running attack from last year, the expectation now is that offensive coordinator Al Borges will really be able to convert the offense into the pro-style system Michigan fans have found comforting over these many years.

In order for that scheme to be successful, much will be expected out of the running game and the next “great” Wolverine back will need to step up. Redshirt senior Fitzgerald Toussaint is on pace to return to from last season’s leg injury to start the year, but Fitz aside, players like junior Thomas Rawls, redshirt sophomores Justice Hayes, sophomore Dennis Norfleet the the rest of the running backs have a great opportunity to shine.

Rawls had a nice outside 25-yard run into the end zone.

Opening up the holes for the running backs will be equally as important and youth and competition is the theme for the position group. Fifth year senior Taylor Lewan will man his left tackle position and Michael Schofield will have right. What the final grouping in the middle looks like has yet to be decided but most regardless of who it is, size is on their side.

In this regard, there are many big bodies, albeit youthful, inexperienced bodies, that should do the trick. Outside of Lewan and Schofield, all the other lineman are either sophomores or redshirt freshman.

Overall, the line blocked some plays well Saturday and allowed the running backs a few lanes to run.

Wide Receivers

“The intangibles. I know how to read coverages…Me and Devin are pretty-much on the same page with everything.” – senior receiver Drew Delio when asked about what he brings to the field.

The two constants in the receiving corps in 2013 will be the redshirt senior Jeremy Gallon who led the Wolverines last year with 49 catches for 829 yards and senior Drew Dileo and his 20 grabs a year ago.

Beyond them, players like sophomore Amara Darboh or senior Jeremy Jackson could fill that third receiver spot.

The tight end position should also help the passing game significantly with sophomore Devin Funches’s size and speed primarily the go-to player here.

Defense

“There are no more excuses on defense as far as what we don’t know.” - Junior defensive end Frank Clark when asked about what is expected of them (the defense) in year three under Greg Mattison’s guidance.

The defense as a whole didn’t disrupt much in the offensive backfield until later in the scrimmage when the freshman Taco Charlton got two consecutive sacks. Junior Frank Clark put on some pressure and had a strong showing.

With Jake Ryan standing on the sideline, opportunities have arisen for someone to take his place and that player could be redshirt senior Cam Gordon.

Lasting Impressions

Overall the last practice of Spring was what it was; an opportunity to put on a show for the public. It was nice to see Devin Gardner playing with such command of the offense. The Wolverine running game had it’s moments and broke a few nice runs. Devin Funchess caught a nice field position altering pass before leaving with the slight injury (that coach Brady Hoke said wouldn’t be an issue). A few touchdowns were scored. A few passes were broken up.

My first impression when watching practice was that it was somewhat crisp and well executed. Each position group had their moments and that was good to see.

At time the offense had the advantage. At times the defense was strong. The main take-away though was how efficient quarterback Devin Gardner look in his passing.

Now we wait ’till August and Team 134 gets to do it all again.

Hail Yeah! Go Blue!!

Wolverine quarterback Devin Gardner scrambles away from the defense during the Spring Game in Ann Arbor. (Image courtesy of MGoBlue.com)

Burke becomes the first Wolverine ever be honored with this award given out by the Atlanta Tipoff Club and only the fifth Big Ten player to receive said recognition.

The Naismith was the last of the major individual player-of-the-year type awards Burke needed to pick up as he was already named as the Wooden and Oscar Robertson awards winner on Friday.

With so much recognition and with Burke guiding his Wolverine team to the national title game for the first time in 20 years, win or lose Monday night, there might not be anything left for him to achieve next season should he return to Michigan. And much of the speculation is that Burke’s time in Ann Arbor is just about over.

Michigan Wolverine sophomore guard Trey Burke winner of the Naismith given out by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. (Image courtesy of Sports Illustrated)

Trey Burke is averaging 18.5 points-per-game with 6.8 assists and 1.6 steals a contest as well but didn’t have his best showing against the hard-pressing Syracuse team Saturday night as he shot 1-for-8 from the field with seven points.

Burke now has one final chance to rise to the occasion Monday night and pick himself and his team up one more most desirable award, the Wooden NCAA National Championship trophy given out to the winner of the championship game.

Now that’s something worth playing for.

Michigan continues its dominating run to the title as the Wolverines beat Syracuse 61-56 tonight down in Atlanta. Now, the Cardinals and Rick Pitino await.

Things got close there in the second half, but the Wolverines displayed a poise beyond their years. Unheralded freshman contributed big early and Mitch McGary once again proved he is the most dominate force in college basketball.

The Wolverines got up big then hung on late to earn the most improbable victory and birth in the title game Monday night.

The freshmen came to play as guards Spike Albrecht, Chris LeVert and monster forward Mitch McGary kept the Wolverines in the game by contributing 18 points and making key plays to help build the 11 point halftime Wolverine lead.

Multi-Player of the year Award winning sophomore guard Trey Burke had an off-night shooting the ball going 1-of-8 from the field for 7 points.

Tim Hardaway Jr. led the Wolverines with 13 points and Mitch McGary grabbed 12 rebounds on the day.

Not to many people expected Blue to get this far but here they are one victory away from a national title. At this point, there is no reason to think they are not going to get it.

Hail Yeah! Go Blue!!

What else can be said?

Michigan guards Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr. celebrate late in the game against Syracuse.

Congratulations ]V[ICHIGAN Wolverine sophomore guard Trey Burke for being named the Associated Press College Basketball Player of the Year for the 2012-13 season.

Burke becomes only the second Wolverine player to win the award since the stand-out guard Cazzie Russell picked up the honor back in the 1965-66 season in his senior year.

Burke has already been honored with numerous other awards for his outstanding play this season as he was named the Big Ten Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Year, Sports illustrated National Player of the Year and was voted a unanimous All-Big Ten 1st team to name a few. Burke was also awarded the 2013 Cousy Award early Thursday given to the nation's top point guard.

The highly decorated Wolverine led the Big Ten Conference in scoring and assists during the season averaging just over 20 points-per-game with 6.4 assists-per-contest as well. Burke also proved protective of the basketball on the court as he finished first in assist-to-turnover ratio in the Big Ten.

Michigan sophomore guard Trey Burke against Kansas in the 2013 Elite 8 match-up.

Overall, a fine season for sure…

But there is much more to do and Trey knows it!

Burke has guided his team to their first appearance in the Final Four since 1993. Only Syracuse now stands in their way from a date in the national title game.

You got this far, may as well now finish this thing off the right way with a national championship (and possibly go out on top).

Congratulations Trey. Now lead your team once again to victory!

Hail Yeah! Go Blue!!

This will be the second such game played at night in Ann Arbor since the lights were competed and installed prior to the same two teams meeting in 2011.

It is said by many who were in attendance for that game on September 10th, 2011 that the Michigan victory was one of the Wolverines’ greatest ever and that the game was the most exciting ever played in The Big House.

In the contest, the Wolverines trailed Notre Dame 24-7 entering the 4th quarter and at the time there were little signs that Michigan was going to win the game. But, after a 28-point outburst in the 4th and some stellar final drive defense against the Irish, Michigan prevailed 35-31.

It was a most incredible scene to be sure.

Michigan also announced that former Wolverine from the 1940′s and Heisman Trophy winner the late-great Tom Harmon will be honored with a pre-game ceremony when the next Michigan Football Legend patch will be introduced.

(Note: The game played this season in South Bend, Indiana between Michigan and Notre Dame was in fact played at night as well. But the term Under the Lights was branded for the first night game ever played in The Big House in Ann Arbor on September 10th, 2011…Thus Under the Lights II)

The Big House in Ann Arbor on September 10th, 2011 Under the Lights (Image John T. Greilick / The Detroit News)

The BCS 18th ranked Michigan Wolverines (8-4, 6-2 Big Ten) will be making their second consecutive bowl appearance under the leadership of coach Brady Hoke in as many years and for the second year they will play a bowl game in January.

The Wolverines were selected to play in the Outback Bowl on January 1st down in Tampa, Florida and the team will face the South Carolina Gamecocks  (10-2, 6-2 SEC) out of the SEC coached by Steve Spurrier.

Although, this bowl game destination may not be the one that avid Wolverine fans and followers were expecting nor hoping for when the season started, none can deny that the match-up will be one of the more interesting of the bowl season.

Steve Spurrier is a national title winning coach from his days at Florida and owns over 200 wins as a college coach. The Gamecocks are the 10th ranked BCS team and finished third in the SEC East behind Georgia and Florida.

And Michigan coach Brady Hoke is looking forward to the game and stated, “South Carolina is an excellent football program and we look forward to the challenge of facing them on New Year’s Day.”

The Wolverines finished second in the Big Ten Legends Division and three of their losses came against the Associated Press’s current #1 (Notre Dame), #2 (Alabama) and #3 (Ohio State) ranked teams in the country.

Could have and should have are phrases more suited to humans than to Wolverines.

What did happen happened.  What “could have happened” and “should have happened” did not happen and it never will happen because the game is over, it is history and we cannot go back there and make it happen.

Football is just a game—tell it to the people crowded into the shoe in freezing temperatures screaming their hearts and lungs out.  Tell it to the millions of others watching on television, the Internet and listening on the radio around the world—that’s right the world.  Checkers is just a game—football is more than that because we make it more than that, even though it started out as just as game.

So you can say, “it’s just a game”, we both know, that’s easier said than believed.

All of that aside, what is definitely true and the good news is that the end of the day the Michigan Football Team is still Michigan.  You cannot ask for anything more than that because there is nothing greater to be than Michigan.  It’s not about winning or losing a game, even a game to a despicable, unworthy rival.  It’s about the culture of being the most storied and admirable program in college football.

Obviously, since I’m a wolverine, and the team is named after me, I couldn’t love Michigan football anymore. Having said that, about yesterday’s game.  Bottom line, much of our success in the first half was an illusion masked by Ohio State’s mental errors (e.g. lots of unnecessary penalties), missed tackles, like that 80 yard run by Denard.   I have heard so much banter about Hoke’s curious decision to go for it at the 50-yard line on 4th and 3, early in the 2^nd half.

Even more outrage is being directed at the decision to run Denard up the middle. Maybe the so-called “OBVIOUSLY wrong call” may have been trickery by Hoke, hoping that Ohio state would open the middle in guarding against the obvious right call and Denard would find a hole and break a big play.

Had it worked, we’d all be singing Brady Hoke’s praises. Had we won, nobody would have given it a second thought.  But it didn’t work, and we didn’t win, so now the lynch mob has assembled.  But that’s just an occupational hazard for a head coach.  I personally do not think it was O-line and Gardener that fizzled in the second half. I think it was Ohio State that made half time adjustments that told the real story of what was going on, on the field.

It has been a tough year, injuries, etc. etc. but lest I remind you that this is Hoke and staff’s second year at Michigan.   They are 19-6, which is not a bad start considering the challenges that the Brady Bunch faced in transitioning from Rich Rod to now. Over scrutinizing the coaching staff and their decisions is not really useful, and certainly NOT loyal.

Now about Brady snubbing the post-game handshake, which has been a routine for years.  It did not happen in the horseshoe Saturday. Hoke said after Michigan’s 26-21 loss Saturday to Ohio State that he did not shake hands with Meyer, nor talk to him before or after the game. He was mindful enough to say it wasn’t out of bitterness following the close loss to Michigan’s biggest rival, and his own personal rivalry with Urban Meyer, but Brady was obviously upset after the game. “I work with the D-line before the game and after the game,” Hoke said. “It’s kind of hard to see anybody.  “No big deal. It’s not a story.”

Michigan defensive coordinator Greg Mattison did shake hands with Meyer, interrupting his post-game TV interview to do so. The two coached together at Notre Dame, and Meyer later hired Mattison as his defensive coordinator at Florida. Mattison said, “We’ll always be friends.”  That’s understandable and even admirable.  Conversely, Hoke and Meyer are not friends and never will be. That too, is understandable and even more admirable.

Why?  There is a reason why Brady Hoke fits with the culture of Michigan football, and a reason why Urban Meyer is well suited to Ohio State.  Brady Hoke is sincere and honest.  Urban Meyer’s history suggests otherwise. When Brady Hoke shakes your hand he’s the kind of person that means it.  When Urban Meyer shakes your hand, you should count your fingers afterwards.

It is just the difference between Michigan and Ohio State.  They end the season 12-0 and they are not going to a bowl game.  Why?  Because of Jim Tressel a man that they bring out onto the field, lift in the air, and give a standing ovation.

Now why would they do that?  Obviously, there is not a lot of critical thinking going on in that crowd—but that is not news.  The larger issue, which speaks to what Ohio State is all about is that Tressel’s winning is much more important to them than honesty or ethics.  That is the culture of Ohio State football.  Woody Hayes slugged an opposing player who he never apologized to.  He tore up sideline markers in a temper tantrum after a loss at Michigan Stadium.  Yet, at Ohio State, they have a street named after him.  Why? Because he won a lot of football games.  That is the problem with Ohio State.

At Ohio State all you have to do to be a winner is win a lot of football games.  That makes sense to the less intelligent.  So it is completely understandable that the Ohio State faithful would think like that.

The University of Michigan on the other hand is populated by the more intelligent. Hence, the definition of winner is more insightful. There in lies the difference between the Ohio State Buckeye and the Michigan Wolverine.

The Ohio State Buckeye wants to be remembered as the team who scored the most touchdowns and won the most games.  The Michigan Wolverines want to be remembered as a team of individuals who win on and off the field, in what they do, how they behave, what they stand for and who they are.  As Abraham Lincoln said, “I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong.”

By virtue of the fact that Ohio State lifted Jim Tressel in the air, and gave him a standing ovation is why at the end of day, I would rather be Michigan than Ohio State no matter what the outcome of a given game.  The truth is, by virtue of the culture of Ohio State football, and the lack of integrity at Ohio State compared to that of Michigan football and The University of Michigan, Michigan has always been and will always be the real winner.

Hail!

Like the side of the truck says, “The winningest team in the history of college football!” (Image courtesy of MGoBlue.com)